
This invention relates generally to culinary implements, and more particularly to a utensil that performs multiple culinary tasks.
In any kitchen, whether restaurant or private, there are numerous tools designed to aid in the preparation of food. Common kitchen tools include spoons, spatulas, cleavers, and the like. The spoon has a function of scooping and retaining various foods, including gravies and other liquids. It is common for spoon to have drainage slots or holes for allowing the passage of a fluid (e.g., broth), while retaining larger pieces of solid food. A spatula is useful for turning, lifting, and transferring foods. A spatula typically has a flat blade with a leading edge that allows the blade to slip between foods and a cooking surface (e.g., the bottom of a pan or a griddle). The spatula, like the spoon, commonly contains drainage openings designed to allow liquids such as grease or oil to pass through them. A cleaver is a sharp, tall bladed knife typically used for chopping or slicing foods. The cleaver aids in the processing of foods that require a more specialized utensil than a standard knife, such as foods already being prepared in a deep pan, or foods that require more force to be chopped (e.g., hard vegetables or meats).
While each of the above described utensils is particularly useful for its intended purpose, using multiple utensils simultaneously results in many inconveniences. One problem associated with using multiple utensils is their use of kitchen space. Each utensil requires its own counter-space, to be rested on when not in use by the chef, and its own cupboard space to be stored in. Resting each utensil on the counter when cooking consumes the chef""s valuable work area, and increases the mess resulting from excess food residue on the utensils, which must be cleaned up. Furthermore, purchasing multiple utensils is costly, because well-made kitchen utensils are expensive. In addition, switching between various utensils while preparing foods consumes the chef""s valuable time. This loss of time, even if small, can cause over-cooking of certain foods and the resultant waste of food that is then not suitable for serving. All of these problems contribute to chef frustration in their attempt to timely prepare high quality food.
The use of known individual utensils also inherently limits the functionality of each particular utensil to its intended purpose, and there are some combined functions for which no utensil exists. For example, when cooking an omelet in a frying pan with a curved side, there is no known utensil for lifting and turning the omelet (e.g., spatula function) and detaching the omelet from the curved side wall of the pan. The straight leading edged of the spatula does not conform to the curved wall of the pan.
What is needed is a kitchen utensil that combines the specialized functions of various culinary implements in a single utensil, in order-to minimize the inconveniences and expense associated with using separate utensils. What is also needed is a utensil that combines the functionality of known, individual utensils into a single utensil.
The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art by combining the functions of multiple culinary implements into a single, novel kitchen utensil, thus reducing the cost and inconvenience of using multiple utensils.
One particular embodiment of the present invention includes a body having a depressed portion (e.g., a spoon) formed therein, a handle extending from the body in a first direction, and a blade (e.g., a spatula) extending from the body in a second direction. Optionally, the depressed portion of the body and/or the blade defines one or more apertures to facilitate fluid flow therethrough. The handle and the blade extend in directions that are not parallel to one another. In a more particular embodiment, the handle and the blade are perpendicular to one another. Additionally, the plane of the blade forms a nonzero angle with a plane defined by the upper boundary of the depressed portion of the body (e.g., spoon lip).
The body includes a curved leading edge designed to uniformly contact a curved wall of a cooking container. In a more particular embodiment the curved leading edge of the body is detachable to facilitate the use of leading edges of varying contours.
The flat blade extending from the body includes a flat lateral edge adapted to contact the bottom surface of the cooking container. Optionally, the lateral edge of the blade is continuous with the curved leading edge of the body. In a particular embodiment the blade includes a sharpened leading edge to facilitate the chopping and slicing of foods. In addition, the sharpened leading edge of the blade facilitates the lifting of food from the bottom of a cooking container, as does the lateral edge of the blade, such that the blade can function as a spatula in either the forward or lateral direction.